Kenneth Lay
thumb|320px|left|Kenneth's Theme "My name is Kenneth Lay, and my greatest sin was that I was a door to door salesmen." "Besides... I'm just too damn gorgeous to kill." Kenneth Lay. White furred, black suited fox. Cocky. Reprehensible. Ladiesman. Chainsmoker. Conman. Not to be trusted. Background 'History' A wandering conman, Kenneth Lay has lived his life roaming across the country, performing odd con-jobs here and there, mostly just enough to support him in moving on. A typical ladies man, Kenneth is a free spirit, until the moment when he met her, and from there everything spiralled out of control. A chance encounter with the dragon soldier Xell Rhinestone led to a misunderstanding that has still not yet been resolved. 'Black Rainbows' He appeared as a confident and cocky knowitall troublemaker with an apathetic attitude to those around him. He jokingly confessed his greatest sin as being a door to door salesman, before revealing himself as a confidence man, as well as ominously 'driving someone to suicide'. Character 'Personality' Outwardly confident and cocky, Kenneth hides a rocky, self-hating past. Whilst he appears to be outwardly rude and brashful, much of it stems from a guilty conscience and the desire to be hated by other people. However, Kenneth has his own goals and he refuses to back down from them. He has an unshaking desire to redeem his soul, along with that of Xell Rhinestone, Mordie Locklear and a third unknown. He is also exceptionally crafty and one of the few Trial Runners who is actively looking at the big picture. Devising plans within plans and schemes in an effort to break free of the trappings of the Trial of Redemption, as well as outconning the Lord Patriarch, Julien, himself. Kenneth also refuses to take another person's life. Whilst he blames himself for a person in his past's suicide, he himself has not directly ever murdered another person and he refuses to do so. He even spared his own sinister doppelganger's life. Whilst this may later come back to bite him in the ass, it's a belief he absolutely must stand by. How else can one expect to have their soul redeemed? Kenneth is also an unashamed ladies man and gambler. 'Distinguished Traits' Always wears a smart suit and can often be seen smoking. Has a tendancy to flip his knife up and down in a composed manner. Since the ending of the First Circle, is now missing his left ear. 'Skills' Kenneth has the power to make people believe what he wants them to believe, and this extends across all five senses. He can make people believe he, others or other objects are invisible, or make multiple copies of himself or other things instead, or make people believe something is something else entirely. He can make people believe they can or cannot hear certain things, and this extends to smell, taste and touch as well. He has also demonstrated a proficiency in making enemies believe the damage they recieve is greater than it actually is, or the wounding a teammate feels is not as debilitating as first thought. He is bound only by concentration, imagination and stamina. The greater the belief con, the more mentally worn out and fatiqued he becomes, and this intensifies when he is actively participating in a fight. As such, he is far better used as a tactical support fighter, aiding in battles from a distance. He has also shown small proficiency with a knife, but his general combat skills are lacking. He is not remarkably strong or powerful but has shown some adept lightness in speed. Relationships [[Xell Rhinestone|'Xell Rhinestone' ]] Kenneth has had a past relationship to Xell from before the Game of Redemption began. From what Xell believes, Kenneth had conned the soldier into purchasing faulty ammunition from the conman, which led to Xell's platoon of men all dying. Whether or not these events are accurate are unknown. Kenneth is currently aiding Xell within the Trial of Redemption, and he is one of the few individuals Kenneth is willing to help, much less associate, despite their less than affectionate interactions. [[Serenity Hedgehog|'Serenity Hedgehog']] Kenneth offered assistance to Serenity at the beginning of the game in battling against the dobermans, trying to protect her. But Serenity's rather rude rebuttal in light of Kenneth's willingness to help has left him with a rather less than favourable impression of the princess. As such, he couldn't admit to caring about what happens to her in the Trials anymore. [[Mordie Alyssa Locklear|'Mordie Locklear' ]] Kenneth and Mordie are beginning to fall into a relationship. Despite not knowing her for long, Kenneth has already begun to fall for Mordie's affections and is willing to aid her to succeed in the Trial of Redemption. It has more to do than just her pretty looks, he swears. He actively aided her in her battle against her doppelganger and was willing to risk his life, and thusly lose his ear in an effort to protect her. An effort that seemed to backfire considering her subsequent battle against Jacob in trying to rescue Kenneth and her kidnapping by Julien. The bastard. [[Captain Jacob|'Captain Jacob' ]] Kenneth fought against Julien's righthand man at the end of the First Circle, in an effort to stand by his beliefs and defy the Overlord, as well as protect Mordie. Despite all his efforts, Kenneth lost and in the process lost his left ear to the Knight Captain. Needless to say, Kenneth is pissed, and there will come a reckoning. [[Julien Summerfield|'Julien Summerfield']] Kenneth has a great disdain and distrust towards the Overlord ruler of the Game of Redemption, Julien. Whilst everyone else seems to be willing to play along with Julien's rules, Kenneth outright refutes them. He doesn't believe that even if any of them are fortunate to survive the three Circles that they'll actually be rewarded with redemption. He IS, afterall, the devil incarnate. As such, Kenneth is actively plotting and seeking to discover any way of overcoming Julien and winning the game via other means, including quite possibly the largest con job imagined. Whilst Julien could wipe out Kenneth at any moment, Kenneth is confident he wouldn't, rather Julien is so overconfident in his own capabilities that a mere man like Kenneth cannot threaten him, as well as preferring to see Kenneth fail miserably in the attempt and see his soul crushed through the course of the game. Kenneth may be hopelessly out of his depth, but it won't stop him from trying. Statistics *Power: 4/10 *Defense: 4/10 *Speed: 7/10 *Dodge: 8/10 *Aim: 8/10 *Stamina: 9/10 Trivia *Kenneth has smoked 30 cigarettes since the start of the Trial of Redemption. *He has also drank 10 bottles of alcohol since the start of the Trial of Redemption. *Kenneth actually died in his previous life from a battle with lung cancer. You'd think he'd have learned by now. *Kenneth very rarely calls anyone by their actual name. He employs nicknames for virtually everyone. Current nicknames for people are: #Xell Rhinestone: 'Puff', 'Soldier-boy' #Mordie Locklear: 'Sweet-cheeks', 'Sugar-lips', 'Dollface' #Glitch: 'Stumpy' #Lani: 'Broad' #Wren: 'Bugs' #Seipher: 'Scruffy', 'Flyboy'